Hines and Cadillac Fairview, the real estate arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, have formed a partnership to develop and acquire up to A$1.5 billion (US$971.5 million) of assets in the Australian build-to-rent (BTR) sector.

The partnership — which plans to develop, own, and operate best-in-class, international-caliber, purpose-built BTR assets across Australia — will be seeded by three BTR development sites acquired by Hines in less than nine months:

15–33 Bank Street and 35–37 Bank Street, South Melbourne will provide approximately 400 high-quality BTR units (renderings pictured). 10 Ballarat Street, Brunswick 36–58 Macauley Road, North Melbourne

According to The Australian Financial Review, the three sites have the potential for 850 BTR units in Melbourne as part of the 2,000-plus-unit fund.

The partnership’s investment strategy will focus on projects located in vibrant submarkets close to tr